Ivy Smoak is a new author for me, but I see she has written quite a number of books previously. This one was a lot of fun, and I would classify it as both a thriller and a romance novel.

Description:
Hazel Fox arrives at her new job on a private island hoping to get inspiration from a renowned novelist, only to discover she won’t be working with the author after all. She won’t even get to meet her. Instead, she’ll be assisting the handsome—and infuriating—Mr. Remington.

Mr. Remington unnerves Hazel from the moment they meet. Not only because he’s cold and strict and seems hell-bent on getting her to quit…but because his eyes are the same color of the ocean in their backyard. And his intense gaze always seems to be trained on her. Mr. Remington refuses to share any personal information about himself—not even his first name. But if there’s one thing Hazel is certain of in this beautiful, isolated estate, it’s that Mr. Remington has secrets. And those secrets are dangerous.

Something sinister is going on, and Hazel is determined to discover the truth…no matter how close she has to get to Mr. Remington. After all, it’s the things that are bad for us that feel best.

My thoughts:
I think I would have quit on the first day of the job when Hazel found out that she was not going to be the author's assistant, but the assistant to the assistant. I enjoyed the back and forth banter between Hazel and Mr. Remington. The book was a fun read and there were a couple of times I laughed out loud. There was just enough spookiness to make you wonder. Loved the setting of the creepy old house with the secret passageways and all the locked doors.

Thanks to Montlake through Netgalley for an advance copy. This book will be published on August 8, 2023.

I already laugh with double meaning in Mr.Remington word. As a writer, Hazel imagination running wild with the estat and it is mystery leading into one conclusion. Remington's is vampire clan. Some question doesnt get answer so the vampire thing maybe true. No sexy time really dissapoitment me.

Thank you to NetGalley for provide this book, it is pleasure to review this book.

#BadThingsFeelBest #IvySmoak #Montlake #NetGalley #ARC

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of this book. This was an excellent read! This was an intense and crazy romance with thrills and some chills. I couldn't put it down. A wonderful and compelling who done it. Highly recommend

I don't even know how I feel about this one... a little Verity, a little twilight inspo?

I like it!

3 stars because the ending was a little lackluster.

This book was brilliant. Such an easy read that had me gripped from the get go. I loved all the characters, Hazel and Kehlani’s friendship was perfect. I still have soo many questions though! I will definitely be thinking about this book for a while yet

I did enjoy my read through of this book! Took a little while but I did finish it!
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for early access to this book!

I would definitely recommend this book; it was very engaging and kept me hooked with the plot twists. I loved the development of the main characters. Plot was fast-paced and kept me engaged. 4/5 stars

Ok, so I went in to this book not really knowing what to expect.
I have to say, once I started reading I was kinda gripped by the story.
Ivy's world building is one of my favourite things about her as an author, and this book was no different. I could really picture where the story was taking place.
I did call the plot twist quite early on, but it didn't detract from the story.
I definitely enjoyed the journey our characters went on, even though I did find the FMC a little irritating from time to time.
This is a 3 star read for me because I still have quite a few unanswered questions, and I'm one of those people who much prefers to have everything all tied up in a nice neat bow at the end of the story.
I still think it's definitely worth a read though 👌

This one kept me on the edge of my seat! I had no idea what the ending was going to be and enjoyed all of the twists and turns.

This was fantastic and such a fun read. I loved it so much and kept turning the pages. Can’t wait to be able to share this with friends.

I'm not sure what to say about 'Bad Things Feel Best'. There isn't much I can say about the plot without spoiling the ups and downs of the story, which did keep me guessing until the end, but not in the way I anticipated it would going in. The characters were fun, though maybe a bit one dimensional. I did appreciate the comedic banter between Hazel and her best friend Kehlani. The pacing was a bit off. I found it hard to get into the story until about a third of the way through. The middle third of the book was probably the portion I enjoyed the most. I think I would have enjoyed this book more if I went into it viewing it as a romantic comedy instead a of a thriller/romantic suspense novel.

Loved this book, very funny moments but also very creepy moments too. It gave me verity by Colleen Hoover vibes and can honestly say it was great.

God, this book had some very very funny moments, and then some very very creepy moments. It reminded me a lot of Verity, Although I kept flipping those pages, curious where Smoak was taking her story, I would've loved more romance. I was expecting an adult romance, but it was more romantic thriller with fade-to-black scenes.

Thanks for the advanced copy. And for creating Kehlani who really stole the show.

I read other books by the author in the past and i know that she’s a well known and loved one.
Unfortunately this book didn’t do anything for me and I started and put it down so many times in the last few weeks. I can’t get pass the immaturity of the main character and her attics. She’s weird, immature and just annoying at times.
And the overall story didn’t had a beginning and end for me to enjoy it as I was expecting.

Very grateful to the publisher for my review copy

Absolutely loved this book! I have followed Ivys books for nearly 3 years now and again Ivy has smashed it. I love how it is different from the other series and took me on a journey. Well done Ivy 💖

Thank you netgalley for allowing me to read this book. I was intrigued by the description although I did end up feeling disappointed but It was quick and easy to read. I thought it was weird how uneasy he made her yet she seemed like she wanted to jump his bones the whole time. I enjoyed the mystery and it kept me hooked for awhile but would have liked more of the romance. I will say I predicted the ending and would have liked a bigger twist and wanted to like the characters more than I did.

I did not know much about the plot before I dweled into the book, but I must admit it took me by surprise.

The plot, despite its predictability could have worked better if it were not of the subpar execution. The misdirections are obvious and frustrating.

But my biggest complaint is about the characters. They fall flat despite the intrigue and the secret that they have been covered with. The plot is inconclusive, with unwanted love triangles.

However, Smoak does a great job developing the atmosphere, keeping it creepy throughout. The romance, despite its potential, is not believable. It has decent pacing.

The book could have benefitted from developing the characters further.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC and to the publisher for the copy.

I received an arc from NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

This was a different Type of read then what I am used to reading but I do have to say it had me second guessing a lot of things. Was the house haunted? Were there vampires? Could Miss Serrano speak? Who was Mr. Remington really?

I also enjoyed the back and forth dialogue between Kehlani and Hazel. They had me chuckling a few times.

Overall a great read.

I’ve never read anything by this author so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I just knew I needed it because the cover drew me in completely. While it wasn’t my favorite, I still really enjoyed the twists and turns. I just wanted something more.

What drew me in was the cover of the book, then the title, and then the Synopsis which had me instantly downloading. Because a thriller-y vibe? Suspense? WITH romance?? I was down for this COMBO so so much.

ALSO I CALLED THAT PLOT TWIST AJAJSKSKSK, I was like “Hmm what if…👀”. That’s what the fun is with the mystery types of books, is all the “What-ifs” that you come up with while reading!

For this book though, I struggled getting into it at the beginning because the Main Girl was irritating to read and the Main Guy was a wall. That main girl was down BAD almost immediately, which had me saying “BFFR” to my screen. Many times. 🫣

But I’m glad I stayed until the end, despite the rocky start. Because this story was a whole JOURNEY in a way. The all-consuming theories you come up with is fun too.👀